FILE PHOTO: Hunter Biden, son of U.S. President Joe Biden, is seen as he makes a surprise appearance at a House Oversight Committee markup and meeting to vote on whether to hold Biden in contempt of Congress for failing to respond to a request to testify to the House last month, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 10, 2024. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
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Hunter Biden, 54, faces a trial for weapons possession while still used drugs in 2018. It is the first time that the son of a sitting president has been in the dock in a criminal trial.
In a symbolic show of support, the president was seen Saturday with his son taking a bike ride near his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. As a father, he says he supports Hunter, who claims he has recovered from his addictions.
Jury selection began this Monday in a court in Wilmington, Delaware. Biden’s defense had reached a plea agreement with the Prosecutor’s Office to avoid prosecution, but Judge Maryellen Noreika wants Hunter Biden to appear in Court. Later the attorneys tried to buy time to look for more witnesses but the judge refused to accept this demand.
Hunter Biden has another trial pending, set to begin in September. In that case he is accused of tax crimes, since he would not have submitted the declaration for several years.
Three federal charges
There are three federal charges that Hunter Biden faces:
a) Two for making false statements
b) One for illegal purchase possession of weapons while being an addict to drugs.
These charges are related to the acquisition of a Colt Cobra Special revolver at a Delaware gun shop in October 2018. At that time Hunter Biden has acknowledged that he was addicted to crack cocaine.
Hunter Biden lied about his drug use on the form that must be completed when purchasing a gun in the US. Prosecutors maintain that he claimed he was “not an illegal user or addict of any stimulant narcotic.” The gun, which Hunter Biden had in his possession for 11 days, was discovered in a container near a business in Greenville, Delaware. Police tracked down the gun and found those forms.
Prosecutors must prove that Hunter Biden intentionally lied on the form. And also that he regularly consumed drugs and that, despite this, he wanted to buy the revolver.
If convicted of all three charges, he risks a sentence of 25 years in prison . But nonviolent offenders with no prior records and who have not been charged with using the weapon in another crime are rarely sentenced to serious prison terms on these charges.
Drugs, alcohol and sexual dating
For decades, Hunter Biden has battled addictions, from cocaine to crack to alcohol. His relationship with his first wife, Kathleen Buhle, deteriorated due to this drift and suspicion that he had committed infidelities through a dating agency. With her he is immersed in a legal battle for alimony. If he testifies as a witness, Hunter’s ex is going for the jugular.
Hunter Biden’s professional career has always been related to his father’s environment, when he was a senator and Obama’s vice president . He was vice president at MBNA bank, Joe Biden’s donor at the time; lobbyist in Congress, and the most controversial of his positions: member of the board of directors of Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian natural gas company, in 2014.
When he was in the Presidency, Donald Trump tried to get Ukrainian authorities to denounce that Joe Biden as vice president had tried to prevent a Ukrainian prosecutor from investigating his son. That ended up leading to the first impeachment of Donald Trump, for having used his position to harm a political rival. But he did not get ahead because of the Republican majority in the Senate.
Effect on elections
Will this trial of Hunter Biden have consequences at the polls on 5N? Trumpist Republicans are going to use the process against Biden’s son to hide that their candidate is a criminal, as is the case with Donald Trump . Most Republicans believe that Trump is a victim of armed justice. After the verdict, the former president’s campaign has raised $70 million. Some Democrats are pushing for Joe Biden’s campaign to be more aggressive and describe his rival as a convicted felon. Trumpists will try to focus attention on the president’s son and his particular legal drama.
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